CFITrainer.Net Podcast

The IAAI and CFITrainer.Net present these podcasts with a focus on issues relating to fire investigation. With expertise from around the world, the International Association of Arson Investigators produces these podcasts to bring more information and electronic media to fire investigators looking for training, education and general information about fire investigation. Topics include recent technologies, issues in the news, training opportunities, changes in laws and standards and any other topic that might be of interest to a fire investigator or industry professional affected by fire. Information is presented using a combination of original stories and interviews with scientists, leaders in fire investigation from the fire service and the law enforcement community.

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Transcript

Welcome to IAAI’s February 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast. Today, we have an extremely important topic that affects all of the 32,000 fire departments in the United States. We’re going to get right to it.

With us today is Steve Austin, the Director of Government Relations for the International Association of Arson Investigators. He’s here to discuss the current status of the funding of the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. This federally-funded grant program is administered by the U.S. Fire Administration. Grants are given under three programs that are designed to assist local fire departments and other organizations to protect citizens and firefighters against the effects of fire. These three programs are the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), Fire Prevention and Safety Grants, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants. Here’s what you need to know about how President Obama’s proposed budget cuts and Congress’ potential alteration to those cuts may impact these important fire service grant programs. With me on the phone is Steve Austin.

Q: Steve, thanks for being with us.

STEVE AUSTIN: Hey Rod, it’s my pleasure.

Q: So, you’ve been working with the fire service and fire service grant business for a long time. What have these grant programs meant to the fire service?

STEVE AUSTIN: They’ve meant a lot Rod. Because of the support that they’ve provided to local fire departments and fire associations, non-profit associations, they’ve allowed the fire service to be better equipped, better trained, they have better staffing, and they’ve allowed associations such as the International Association of Arson Investigators to present programs that would not be available without the Fire Grant program. You know, the IAAI has been involved in the fire grant issue since day one - even before day one. We worked very hard with our fellow fire service groups to write the legislation to lobby for its passage - our leader there with us has been the Congressional Fire Services Institute who we work with very closely in helping to educate Congress.

Having said that, the other part, and just as important, is the SAFER grant program. That’s the piece of the equation that allows fire departments to get increased staffing, whether they be career departments and actually use the funds to hire new firefighters or for volunteer departments to get programs started that would recruit and retain firefighters.

Q: So, Steve, what’s the potential effect of having the funding cut or eliminated from the Fire Grants program?

STEVE AUSTIN: The public is greatly impacted here because as we all know, fire prevention activities and fire protection in general is an important element of livability in any community, and fire grants impact that. Some of these programs simply would not exist if there was not Fire Grant funding. It’s unfortunate, but in the economic environment that we live in, we count on that funding to help us do those things, not only to make sure that the fire department is properly equipped and trained, but also that there is a public education component out there, as well as the component that we talk about in CFITrainer, which is, of course, the education to lead to a more professional fire investigation.

Q: Well, you bring up CFITrainer, and I think for our audience that’s pretty important. What are some of the impacts or hard numbers behind CFITrainer’s success?

STEVE AUSTIN: CFITrainer is really on the cutting edge of delivery of educational services. Not everyone can sit down in a classroom with the instructors that we provide at CFITrainer. It’s just a physical impossibility that we can get everybody in the same room. You’re talking, Rod, about having 35,000 students that are individually registered at CFITrainer. How would you get 35,000 students in a room to learn about courtroom procedures or proper evidence collection or the myriad of other programs that CFITrainer has provided over the years. It’s just physically impossible. So it just can’t happen without a managed learning system like CFITrainer.

In the more practical sense, even though there is a great bang for the buck here - I mean, there’s over - the last time I checked there were over 400,000 hours of training provided to our students at no cost, and when we look at the production budget for this, that figures out to less than $10 per student hour, which would be just impossible to deliver a quality program such as CFITrainer to a student at that amount of dollars. So, not only are students getting this excellent training, but the government is getting a lot of value for the money they’re investing in CFITrainer.

Q: Steve, can you talk about who’s fighting for the money in Washington for the fire services?

STEVE AUSTIN: The IAAI is considered one of the major - seven major fire service groups in Washington. It has been for the last 30, 35 years, and along with our brother in the first service organizations, which include, but not limited to, the Firefighters Union, the IFF, the NFPA, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and others, we work very closely together to make sure that as the fire service we deliver a consistent and clear message to Congress about what our priorities are, and we focus that message through the Congressional Fire Services Institute, which its mission is to educate Congress. They’ve done a wonderful job at CFSI to help bring the groups together and make sure that we’re on the same page.

Q: I’m glad to hear that you’re out there fighting for it Steve. So what can members of the fire service do to express their opinions about the importance of the Fire Grant Programs?

STEVE AUSTIN: Well they all need to be contacting their United States Senators and their member of Congress. They don’t need to be experts on all the whys and the wherefores and the amounts of money and the budget process, all they need to do is to stop in and visit in the local, a member of Congress’ office or call on the telephone or call the Senator’s office, the local district offices and say we really would like to have our Senator, our Representative support the Fire Act and support SAFER. I will tell you that that is recorded - who you are, where you’ve called and why you’ve called and that member of Congress will see those numbers and know that there are people in his district or her district or that Senator in that state will know that there are people interested in preserving and strengthening fire and SAFER.

Thanks, Steve. As you’ve told us, it’s very important that the fire service and the people involved stay on top of this issue.

We close with some brief news from the IAAI Training Calendar. On March 15th in Dallas, Texas, "Ethical Investigation of Insurance Claims" will use video scenarios to present and discuss ethical issues that arise in the investigation of fire losses. On March 24th in San Diego, IAAI will hold its popular class, "Effective Investigation and Testimony." This class focuses on how to protect an investigation from legal challenges and effectively present methodology and evidence at trial. For more information on and registration for these courses, visit firearson.com.

That concludes this IAAI CFITrainer.Net podcast. Don’t forget to visit cfsi.org to follow what is happening with the Fire Grants program. We’ll see you again next month.

Other Episodes

2019

April 2019 Podcast
- April '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. There are two new additions to CFITrainer.Net! A new podcast with Dan Madrzykowski from UL speaking about ventilation and Fire Flow, and a new module called “Fire Flow Analysis”.

March 2019 Podcast
- March '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast includes updates from the IAAI related to the election, the upcoming ITC, and a new website specifically about evidence collection. After the updates, you will also hear some news stories related to fire investigation.

January 2019 Podcast
- January '19 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we’re looking back on some of the biggest issues in fire investigation in 2018.

2018

November 2018 Podcast
- November '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk with Jeff Pauley from the IAAI’s Health and Safety Committee. Jeff is an IAAI-CFI and the Chairman of the Health and Safety Committee. In this podcast, he talks about ways to reduce exposure to carcinogens related to fire investigation. By listening, you will learn about ways to reduce your risks, learn about new resources that are available to assist you, and research that is coming soon.

October 2018 Podcast
- October '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month meet and learn about IAAI’s new Executive Director, Scott Stephens and plans for the future. After that interview, hear some wild stories from the national news related to fire investigation.

What you need to know about Arson Awareness week
- April '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we welcome Tonya Hoover, the Superintendent of the National Fire Academy. Superintendent Hoover came to the NFA with more than 20 years of experience in local and state government, most recently as the California State Fire Marshal.

Growing pot and earning Bitcoin can start fires?
- March '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this month’s podcast, hear a story about how the Bitcoin business might be causing fires? What similarities are there between Pot growers and now Bitcoin miners?

Training related to wildland fire investigation
- February '18 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast highlights new training related to wildland fire investigation featuring an interview with Paul Way, and this year’s International Training Conference. We also have a pretty wild story before we wrap up. Birds starting fires?

2017

Smart homes and digital data gathering issues
- December '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this podcast, we discuss two topics on the technology and forensics cutting edge. Michael Custer of Kilgore Engineering, Inc. and retired Special Agent Tully Kessler share some knowledge and give us a taste of the classes that they will be presenting at ITC 2018.

Discussion with Writer Monica Hesse
- September '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this podcast, you will hear some great news related to the IAAI and CFITrainer.Net and then we have an interview with Monica Hesse, the writer of a new book called "American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land."

Discussion with Criminalist- John DeHaan
- June '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month on the CFITrainer.Net podcast, we talk to Criminalist, fire investigation expert and Author of "Kirk’s Fire Investigation", John DeHaan.

The Ghost Ship
- May '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. For this podcast, we hear from a retired Captain of the Long Beach Fire Department, Pat Wills. Pat has been in the fire service for 37 years. He has been a leader and an investigator, now he is an educator speaking around the country about the importance of code enforcement.

Fast Podcast about ITC!
- March '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to David Bridges about what to expect at ITC and the training you won’t want to miss.

CFITrainer Podcast- A profile with an IAAI-CFI®
- February '17 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. Join us this month for our podcast as we interview IAAI member and CFI, Jeff Spaulding from Middletown, Ohio. Jeff talks about his work in both the public and private sector and then he shares an interesting story about how a pacemaker is helping in an investigation.

2016

An interview with Dr. James Quintiere
- December '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In a discussion with Dr. James Quintiere, we learn about some of his work in fire sciences, a bit about his research, his opinions related to the World Trade Center investigation and what he thinks is important to fire investigation as a scholarly leader in our field.

September 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- September '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk about the recent changes in the FAA's regulations for commercial and public sector use of UAS or "Drones".

August 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- August '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to Jessica Gotthold about the Seaside Heights fire in NJ from 2013

July 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- July '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we talk to Fire Marshall, Ken Helms of the Enid, OK. Fire Department about his team winning the Fire Investigator of the Year award.

March 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- March '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's fire investigation podcast from the IAAI's CFITrainer.Net focuses on the Youth Firesetting Information Repository and Evaluation System, which is called YFIRES for short.

February 2016 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- February '16 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's fire investigation podcast from the IAAI's CFITrainer.Net focuses on what you need to do to ensure the integrity of samples sent to the lab. A conversation with Laurel Mason of Analytical Forensic Associates.

2015

September 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- September '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. Our podcast related to the legalization of recreational marijuana and its effect on fire investigation was one of the most popular podcasts ever on CFITrainer.Net. This month’s podcast is a follow up with one of our listeners from California who is an investigator doing training on this very topic.

August 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- August '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast is about NFIRS where we interview the Executive Director of The National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation, Jim Narva.

July 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- July '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. In this special edition of podcast we’re going to meet the newest IAAI Investigator of the Year, Andrea Buchanan.

April 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's Arson Investigator podcast from IAAI & CFITrainer interviews Dave Perry, a lawyer in Colorado discussing what fire chiefs, fire investigators, and the legal system are seeing in a state with legalized cannabis in regard to fire cause involving marijuana.

February 2015 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- Feb '15 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's Arson Investigator podcast from IAAI & CFITrainer interviews Mike Schlatman and Steve Carman who are both successful fire investigators and now business owners who have transitioned from the public to the private sector.

2014

December 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- December '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast interviews Steve Avato from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives explaining the process of elimination and how it is a critical part of the scientific method.

April 2014 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '14 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast interviews with Don Robinson, Special Agent in Charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Currently stationed at the National Center for Explosives Training and Research, located at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

2013

October 2013 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- October '13 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast focuses on the fire research work of Underwriters’ Laboratories, better known as UL.

February 2013 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- February '13 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month we have an interview with George Codding who returned from a recent trip to Saipan and gives us a closer look at the international activities of the International Association of Arson Investigators

2012

Mid Year 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- Mid Year '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This podcast features a mid-year update on the IAAI’s new initiatives and ways for you to get more involved with the organization.

September 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- September '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an in-depth look at the recent live-burn fire experiments exercise conducted on Governor’s Island, New York by the New York City Fire Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Underwriters Laboratory, and the Trust for Governor’s Island.

August 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- August '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This is a special edition of the CFITrainer.Net podcast previewing the ITC 2013. There’s a new name for the Annual Training Conference from the IAAI now called the International Training conference.

April 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with Chief Ernest Mitchell, Jr., the US Fire Administrator. Also we will discuss the upcoming ATC, Annual Training Conference, from the IAAI about to happen in Dover, Delaware.

March 2012 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- March '12 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with ATF Special Agent Billy Malagassi out of the Tulsa, OK Field Office about investigating fires in clandestine drug labs. We also report on NIST’s findings in the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire and IAAI’s Evidence Collection Practicum.

2011

December 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- December '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features one of the presenters from this year’s IAAI ATC and see how a single photo broke the Provo Tabernacle fire case.

October 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- October '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features an interview with Deborah Nietch, the new Executive Director of IAAI.

June 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- June '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month's podcast features a lot of exciting things that are happening at CFITrainer.Net

May 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- May '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month highlights the IAAI ATC in Las Vegas and the third installment in the "It Could Happen to You" series.

April 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This podcast announces the release of the program, The First Responder’s Role in Fire Investigation, which teaches first responders how to make critical observations and take important scene preservation actions at a fire scene.

March 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- March '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features some of the instructors from the upcoming 2011 Annual Training Conference, to provide a preview of the courses they will be presenting.

January 2011 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- January '11 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the release of the new edition of Fire Investigator: Principles and Practice to NFPA 921 and 1033, new flammability requirements from UL for pre-lit artificial Christmas trees and a growing fire problem in Dubai with factories turned into worker dormitories.

August 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- August '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast focuses on social media as a fire investigation tool, a potential problem with modular home glued ceilings and research from Underwriters Laboratories on the effects of ventilation on structure fires.

July 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- July '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast is a roundtable on some of the latest research and technical activities that impact fire investigation, featuring Daniel Madrzykowski (moderator), Steven Kerber, and Dr. Fred Mowrer.

May 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- May '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. The second in our safety series called "It Could Happen To You." Our Long-Term Exposure roundtable is moderated by Robert Schaal.

April 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. The first of our two-part safety series called "It Could Happen To You." Our roundtable is moderated by Robert Schaal.

March 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- March '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features a conversation about legislative affairs affecting the fire service with Bill Webb, Executive Director of the Congressional Fire Services Research Institute.

February 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- February '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features our interview with a commercial kitchen’s fire expert about what you need to know when you work a commercial kitchen fire.

January 2010 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- January '10 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features a look at preliminary research on corrosion caused by Chinese drywall, a new database focused on fires in historic buildings, a warning on blown-in insulation, and the launch of the new firearson.com web site.

2009

December 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- December '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features cooking fires, highlights of the International Code Council’s Annual Meeting on code requirements, including requiring residential sprinkler systems, and an easy way to keep up with recalls from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

November 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- November '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features chimney fires, including recent news on surgical flash fires, a proposed national arsonist registry, lightning research and an innovation in personal protective equipment.

September 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- September '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the relationship between climate conditions and fire risk, new research on formulating fireproof walls and the latest in IAAI news.

August 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- August '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month takes a look at the dangerous combination of summer heat and oily rags, the rise in vacant home fires, and preview research underway on Australia’s devastating "Black Saturday" brush fires.

July 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- July '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month features a look at outdoor grill fires, a fatal fire at a homeless camp in Southern NJ, new NIST research on human behavior during building fires, and IAAI news.

June 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- June '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features live reports from the 2009 IAAI Annual Training Conference held in May.

April 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- April '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast features the NFPA 921 chapter on marine fire investigations and the myth and reality of static electricity as a source of ignition.

March 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- March '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month focuses on the rise of the hybrid vehicle and what its unique engineering means for the investigation of vehicle fires, the rash of devastating arson fires in Coatesville, Pennsylvania from December 2008 to February 2009, and news from IAAI.

January 2009 CFITrainer.Net Podcast
- January '09 IAAI & CFITrainer Fire Investigator Podcasts. This month’s podcast focuses on the deepening financial crisis in the US and arson for profit fires, how going green may pose a fire hazard and see how rope lighting may be a source of ignition, and IAAI’s Expert Witness Courtroom Testimony course.